Financial and carbon pressures on NHS services heighten the need to find ways to improve health using less resource. There is already strong research evidence for a connection between access to the natural outdoors and the mental and physical health of individuals and populations.

On 2nd March CSH and the Ecosystems Knowledge Network delivered a Valuing Nature Programme event to ensure that tools and methods are available to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of addressing local health priorities through increased physical activity in the natural outdoors in the UK. The programme took diabetes as a focus and included:1. Challenges in policy and practice 2. Learning from local health priorities and opportunities for improved access to the natural outdoors for the population of Birmingham3. Future research priorities